Meet Mr Andrew Seeley Brennan
by Hawaianangelgirl
Summary: Post Baby in the bough. As there's none to take care of him, Brennan decides to keep Andy forever. Of course, Booth will be there to help... Please, R & R!
1. Chapter 1

First of all… I promise I will finish "Blame it on the mistletoe" one day!! I just got myself into a dead end on that story but I'll find a way out!

About this one, here's the thing: I loved so much to see Booth and Brennan with a baby that I thought about giving it a turn in the course of events. What if the little baby had none to take care of him and he was going to be back in the system if Brennan didn't keep him? Would she finally leave him with Family Services? I think no, and that can lead to a very interesting story…

I'm kind of assuming the last two episodes of season 3 didn't happen, so Zack will still be around, Booth hasn't been shot but Max is free already.

PROLOGUE

"Is Andy gonna be alright?" Booth asked after Cam had explained the genetic condition that suffered the cute little baby they were taking care of. He looked at his partner and he saw the same apprehension in her eyes.

"Absolutely…" the pathologist replied, and the agent released a big sigh, his heart racing wildly. "Very treatable. My friend can treat him as an ambulatory patient. Andy is gonna be fine…"

"Thanks, Cam…" Brennan replied, hardly holding her tears. "Really…" She looked down to see the baby's tiny hand that was holding tightly her index.

"Don't mention it…" Cam smiled to the partners and left them to share the moment with their charge.

"Yeah!" Booth exclaimed and went to take a seat over the couch arm, near the baby.

"You're gonna be fine!" Brennan said leaning over the baby.

"Our little guy is going to be fine!" Booth said and stroked the baby's head with his fingers. He looked up to meet his partner's blue eyes and saw the debate of emotions in those blue pools he knew so well. "Andy is going to be fine…"

"I'm thinking about keeping him permanently, you know?" Brennan said and saw the surprise in Booth's face.

"What?" He just couldn't believe it: all the three years they've been partners she'd always said she didn't want kids, and now she was planning to keep a baby that wasn't even her own. "Keep Andy? Like forever?"

"Yeah…"

"Why?"

"I know that being still a baby he has great opportunities to be adopted, but with his condition there won't be many people wanting to keep him forever. Foster parents looking for adoption prefer healthy kids, and Andy needs a lot of care! I could give him the attention he needs…" she said and then went silent when she saw the way Booth was smiling at her. "What?"

"Wow…" he murmured. "And you said you didn't want kids…"

"On the other hand…" she said looking down at the baby again. "I'm not sure about it…"

"Why?" Booth asked confused.

"I don't know anything about babies…" she confessed. "So far I had never pictured myself with one… but Andy…" Just as if he knew they were talking about him, the baby looked up to Bones and shot her one of those toothless smiles that would melt the coldest heart.

"You learn fast…" he said reaching to take her hand that was resting on the edge of the baby's seat. "You're great with kids! Your nieces love you, Parker loves you, and Andy… he loves you too!"

"Do you think so?" she asked, her voice showing how nervous she was.

"Yeah…" he said in a low voice, leaning close to her like he often did. "I'm sure. You're going to be a great mother, Bones…"

Only then the realization of what she was going to become hit her: she was going to be someone's mother, she was going to share her life with a little baby she'd see grow and become a developed man in the future. He saw the fear gripping in her eyes, but he knew she could do this. He would be there for her, to help her. "Andy is a very lucky boy…" he said squeezing her hand tightly.

His smile somehow reassured her and let her know everything would turn out just fine. Over the days she had been taking care of Andy, she had often let herself wonder what it would be like if she kept him. She had grown more attached to the baby than she was willing to confess; his bright smile made its way directly to her heart and filled her with a joy she had never experienced before. Although she had not carried him in her womb, she knew she would do anything to spare him from any kind of harm. And when she wondered what his life would be in the foster care system, she felt the urgent need to take the baby in her arms and hold him tight. The only moment that anguish would stop was when she considered that the best way to be sure Andy would have a happy life was that she gave him all he needed.

That was how Temperance Brennan had decided to have a son. And Seeley Booth would raise a second child.

A couple of days later…

Angela was standing on the platform, her drawing notebook in her hands, watching the scene in front of her: Bones was carrying Andy in her arms while Booth made the baby laugh by ticking his belly. Andy's happy giggles filled the room, but didn't overpass Brennan's happy smile. Since she had announced her decision of keeping the baby, it seemed to her friend that her smile showed a lot more joy and her eyes were brighter. Angela was totally thrilled about Brennan's decision.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard about it, you know?" Sweets commented to the artist. They were both waiting for the anthropologist and the agent to go to the platform so they could go over the remains leading their current case. "Dr. Brennan keeping the baby… I never expected…"

"I did…" Angela said. "She was so worried when we didn't know about his condition… People always see her like a cold woman but she's so capable of love! I know that better than anyone!"

"Oh! That I know!" the psychologist said. "I've told Dr. Brennan that her cold outside is nothing but a façade. If she only accepted that, it would be a lot easier to work the underlying issues between them…"

"Underlying issues?" Angela asked totally confused.

Sweets pointed at the couple. Booth was now carrying the baby while Brennan stroked his little head. "There's a deep emotional attachment between them that none wants to recognize as more than a partnership. But truth is they are a lot closer than what 'normal' partners are…"

"Meaning… they are… in love?" Angela asked, her full attention now on the new member of their team. If the guy saw things the way she did, she had found a valuable ally.

"Meaning they make the other complete in more ways we can possibly count. Psychologically speaking, they are so different that they shouldn't work together so well, yet they form one of the most solid couples I've ever seen, and I mean 'couple' in every sense of the word…"

The artist was now smiling happily to the therapist. "And they say I was imagining things that were not there… Andy's a lucky boy… He's gotten a great mom…"

"He's gotten a great father too…" Sweets said pointing at Booth, who was still carrying Andy and following Brennan to her office. "If Dr. Brennan and agent Booth weren't as close as they are, you can be sure she would have never considered keeping the baby. Although she will deny this, I'm sure that she made such choice 'cause she knew agent Booth wouldn't leave her alone on this one… After all, he's the one who has a son…"

Angela chuckled. "Yeah… She's even called him 'the baby daddy', though at the moment you couldn't know if she was referring to being a daddy with a previous child, or the daddy of this little baby…"

"My guess…" Sweets said, "is that her subconscious betrayed her, and she meant he had to play the father… while she was the mother…"

The artist shook her head in disbelief. "They are already building up a family before they even confess their feelings for each other…"

"In a way they have… but you can bet on this one: Andy will be the missing piece for the puzzle to be complete… if you know what I mean…" he said watching Brennan climbing up the stairs to the platform.

"Lance…" Angela said in a very serious tone, "if you are right and they finally see what's been in front of them for three years now, I promise I'll build you a monument!"

"What are you two talking about?" Brennan interrupted, her serious, professional mask on again.

"Nothing…" Angela hurried to say. "I have the ID of the victim…" she explained and turned to see the set of bones lying on the table. It was a tough case: the victim was a baby of around 8 to 10 months old. "It's hard to say with babies, but…" the artist sighed, "I think it's him…"

Brennan took the drawing her friend was handling her and compared it to the picture attached in the corner from the missing person report. "William Joseph Sanders", she read, "9 months old, disappeared a month ago, in a supermarket…" she moved her eyes from the picture to the little skull and back a couple of times. "Yeah, facial indicators match… Do we know the cause of death?"

"Suffocated to death…" Zack explained joining the group. "I see no marks of stabbing or beating in the bones, except for this fracture in vertebrae C2", he pointed at the mentioned bone.

"The baby must've been crying and whoever had him covered his mouth and pressed until he stopped crying… only that the baby was dead…" Brennan completed.

"Could it have been the mother?" Zack wondered.

"No. She didn't kill him. She filled the report about an hour after the disappearance and went straight from the supermarket to the police station. I was there when agent Booth interrogated her", Sweets pointed.

"Do we have something new?" Booth interrupted climbing up to the platform, Andy still in his arms.

"Angela identified the victim but we'll need DNA tests to be sure…" Bones said. She turned back to see Booth and Andy as the baby was reaching to pat her shoulder asking for her attention. She reached to take his little hand and shot him a sad, little smile.

"Something that can lead us to the killer?" Booth wondered.

"So far we have the cause of death, but…" Zach said.

"You could try to create a scenario in the angelator", Brennan told Angela. "To see how much strength it'd be needed to break the vertebrae like this… but I think it wouldn't be too much and therefore we would have a wide rank of physical composition for the killer to fit in…"

The artist shot one last look to the bones and sighed. "He was so small… Who could have done this to a baby?"

As if in a cue, Andy made baby sounds that got everyone's attention. Working with children was always difficult, but a baby made it almost unbearable. They needed to catch the murderer. Brennan's sad eyes showed what was in everyone's heart. For a brief second, she met Booth's eyes and they had that silent dialogue that allowed them to read each other like an open book. Then, at the tiniest whimper, she reached to take Andy in her arms, kissed his head and, as the baby rested his head on her shoulder, she pressed him to her chest protectively before she flew out of the platform.


	2. Chapter 2

First of all, thank you a lot for your reviews!! I'm really happy you like the story!! I just hope that by the end of if you all are pleased with it!

I'm sorry it's taking me a while to update, but these months until December will be quite hard for me because of school. Please, be patient! I promise I try to write as much as I can, but it is not too much unfortunately…

This chapter wasn't supposed to end here, but it's too long to post it complete, so you'll have to wait for the rest of it, hehe, I promise it's worth waiting!!

Thanks again and I'll be back soon!!

**CHAPTER 1**

The doors of the elevator flung open and Brennan exited to walk along the corridor that led to her partner's office. Three years ago, when they had first become partners, she used to hear murmurs as she walked towards the glass door of his office. Yet, as time went by, the murmurs subsided and eventually she could walk along the corridor almost without being noticed. Nevertheless, this time she heard the murmurs rose again, not directed to her this time, but to the little baby she was carrying in her arms.

"Hey," she said to call Booth's attention when they finally reach his door.

"Bones! Hi!"·the agent said almost jumping from his chair. "Is everything alright? What are you doing here?" he walked towards his partner and reached to kiss Andy's head. He gave him an excited giggle.

"Excuse me…" Charlie, Booth's workmate, appeared by the door. Imagining what the guy wanted, Booth shot him a nasty look. "Dr. Brennan… is it true that you're keeping the baby?" Charlie asked, not minding Booth. "I couldn't believe it when I heard it… I-I even told agent Booth that was something I'd pay to see…"

Booth was ready to reply, but Brennan turned to face the other agent. "Okay. You're seeing me and my baby. Yes, I'm keeping him, so you better believe it. Anything else?"

Charlie knew that the scientist could be quite intimidating when she was decided to be, and he was now experiencing it firsthand. "No… no… I'm… I need to go back to work", he stammered and tried to excuse himself with a pitiful smile. He walked to leave the office when Brennan's voice stopped him.

"Wait!" Brennan said and Charlie turned to face her. "Pay!" At the stunned expression of the man, she explained it again. "You said you'd pay to see me with Andy. You've seen me, now you have to pay. 50 dollars. Now."

The man didn't know what to do or say, so he only reached to take his wallet out and got the bills. Booth reached to get them, his eyes shining with amusement at his partner's idea. He could hardly stifle his laughter at the clumsy way the man left the office. "You can buy us dinner now…" Brennan said so seriously that Booth wondered when she had learned such tricks.

"I sure will!" Booth exclaimed clearly amused. "But you haven't told me what you are doing here…"

"Caroline asked me to meet her here in your office…" Bones explained, "… and asked me to bring Andy…"

"Well, look at this!" the federal prosecutor said walking in the office. "I so wanted to meet the youngest member of the squint squad!" she went to Brennan, who handled her the baby. "They've told me you're a charming little guy, but I didn't know you were this charming!"

Andy giggled and melted Caroline's heart. Booth and Brennan exchanged a pleased look, like the one of proud parents. "I now see why you took out a side of Dr. Brennan that nobody knew!" the lawyer told the baby. "Well, Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth, let me introduce to you Mr. Andrew Seeley Brennan!"

"Oh!"

"What?!"

Both partners exclaimed at the same time.

"You mean the judge…?" Brennan asked.

"…just signed up the papers", Caroline said smiling widely. "This little baby is your son now!"

"Hey!" Temperance said reaching her arms to take the baby, who happily leaned towards his new mother. "You're my baby now, Andy! You are mine!" she exclaimed and kissed the baby's cheek.

"Wait a minute…" Booth finally talked. "Did you name him after me?"

"Ah… yeah… I did…" she stammered, unable to read her partner's expression.

"Why?" Booth asked with incredulously. Caroline saw the exchange with a lot of interest.

"I… don't know…" Temperance replied nervously. "You were the one who found him… and Andy loves you too… Besides… you're my partner and I thought you wouldn't mind…"

Knowing her as well as he did, he knew she had misunderstood his question and she was thinking he didn't like the baby sharing his name. "I'm very flattered…" he said reaching to cup her cheek.

The smile that spread over her face filled his heart with even more joy if it was possible. "He needed the name of a good man…" she whispered, lost in the chocolate eyes of her partner, Caroline totally forgotten at the moment.

"Thank you, Bones…" Booth murmured, equally lost in her eyes.

"I only need you to sign these…" the older woman said getting some papers out of her portfolio and breaking the moment between them.

"Thank you, Caroline, I really appreciate this", the scientist said.

Caroline shook her head. "There's nothing to thank, cherie. Not many people do what you're doing for this little baby. You're a fine woman, Dr. Brennan".

**The following weekend…**

"Coming!" Bones replied to a loud knock on her door. She opened to meet her partner who was standing there, smiling, dressed in jeans, t-shirt and his green jacket.

"Hey, Bones…" he greeted. "Ready?"

"Almost…" she said closing the door behind him. "Andy's ready… I'm just getting his bag packed". She disappeared through the corridor and came back with the baby. "There, you can watch him while I'm done…" she said placing the baby in Booth's arms.

"Okay…" he got Andy, who smiled at him. "See, big guy? That's how it is with women… They always make us wait… We'll have to buy your mom a nice TV so we can wait for her to be ready…"

"Done!" Brennan announced walking back into the living room.

"We have to wait but it's so worth doing it…" Booth said in a low voice, taking his time to see her from head to toe. "Wow…" he murmured. She was wearing just a white tank top, jeans and ballerinas, but she looked comfortable and more relaxed than on a normal working day.

Snapping out of his reverie, Booth tried to hurry his partner. "Okay, let's get moving! I'm sure Andy's anxious about his big day, aren't you pal? You get to meet your whole family today!"

Before she moved, Brennan reached to place a hand on Booth's forearm. "Thanks, Booth… for coming with us".

The agent knew that as much as it wasn't more than a family reunion, she was nervous about what it represented: her introducing her newly recovered family a new member to it. It was a big change in her life, and he was willing to help her and be with her for as long as she wanted. "You know I never leave you alone when you need me, Bones… No need to thank me…"

The anthropologist looked at him for another long moment and then reached to kiss his cheek, just like she had done a few months before. "Thank you".

And just like that other time at the hospital, her kiss took him totally off guard. He took a deep breath, trying to control himself from dropping Andy's chair, and muttered a "Yeah…"

They drove in a comfortable silence all the way to Rebecca's home. Booth had asked her to let Parker join him and Brennan in a picnic with Bones' family. Max had insisted that now that he was a free man, they could enjoy some family things they had missed years ago, and a picnic was just in order: it would be their first family reunion and the first weekend he was spending with all his grandchildren.

Booth doubted Rebecca would give Parker easily, but when he explained her Bones' new situation, she agreed… as long as he picked up Brennan and Andy first, so she got to see the scientist with a baby in her arms. So he wasn't very surprised when he pulled over at his ex's house and a second later the door flung open to let and excited Parker run to meet his dad.

"Hey there, bub!" Booth said taking the boy in his arms. "How are you doing, huh?"

"I'm fine daddy!" he said. "I was waiting for you and Bones so I could meet my new brother!"

Booth swallowed hard at the boy's answer and hardly dared to meet his partner's eyes. He knew there was a long conversation coming. Luckily, Rebecca came to meet them just as Brennan climbed off the car.

"Seeley… Dr. Brennan, hi…" the blond woman said. "I'm sorry about… Parker… it's just hard to explain a 6-year-old how you become a mother without actually being… well, you know…"

"Can I see him?" Parker called the adults attention as he kept on jumping by the SUV window, trying to get a glimpse of the baby.

"Ok, hold on, bub…" Booth opened the door and reached to get Andy out of his chair. The baby kept his blue eyes fixed on Parker as he had seen him jumping at the window.

"Aww, he's so cute!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Can I hold him? Just for a moment!"

Booth looked at Bones briefly as if looking for her acceptance before he handled the baby to the woman. "Look at you! You're so charming, sweetheart!" she told the baby.

"Andy…" Bones pointed out.

"Andy! You're so lovely! I just can see why you got Dr. Brennan's heart!"

The scientist smiled proudly. "Call me Temperance", she offered.

"You have a very beautiful baby, Temperance", Rebecca said handling her baby. "Congratulations".

Brennan smiled as her son reached to touch her face with one of his little hands. "Thank you", she said sincerely.

"Okay, let's go!" Booth said and made Parker climb to the car and adjust his seat belt. "We'll be back around 7 I guess, ok?" he told his ex while Brennan placed Andy back in his chair. As he saw his partner was still busy with her task, he leaned towards Rebecca and asked: "Little brother?"·

"Don't try to fool yourself, Seeley", the woman replied in a low voice. "You know better than me that that's what they'll be!" Then, to avoid any suspicion from Brennan, she raised her voice and wished them a good day. "Have fun! And Parker, please behave!"

"Yes, mommy!" the boy exclaimed from his seat. "I love you!"

"I love you too, hon!" she replied waving good bye at them.

They spent all the rest of the road having fun at Parker's excitement. The six year old either assaulted the two adults with questions or stretched against the seat belt restraints to touch Andy's hands or legs, and the baby seemed to surprisingly like the boy's enthusiasm as he never complained and even laughed at every moment. Brennan kept an attentive eye on the two children, constantly looking back while Booth only stole a few glances from them and from his partner. The two weeks that had passed since Andy had crossed their path had changed Brennan quite a lot, and it really surprised him. She seemed happier and more relaxed than ever, and to him there was a new aura around her than came from no one but the baby.

"Here we are…" Booth said as he pulled over by Russ' car. They were in the parking lot of Rock Creek National Park and from there they could see the rest of the Brennan's getting set in one of the picnic tables available there.

"Hey, Tempe!" Russ shouted to greet his sister. Max, Amy and the girls waved hello too.

"How are you doing, honey?" Max said hugging her daughter as they went to the table.

"Fine, dad, thanks… Look, this is Parker…" she said introducing the kid to the rest of her family. "And this is Andy", she said proudly as Booth lifted the baby chair so they could see the youngest member of the family.

"Aww… look at him!" Amy said as Russ, the girls and she gathered around the table to see the baby. "He's so cute!"

"Who would've thought?" Russ said. "My sister, the 'I-don't want-kids' kind of type, with a baby of her own…"

"She doesn't want to admit it but she loved Andy from the moment he first smiled at her", Booth intervened.

"Booth…" Brennan tried to stop her partner.

"You should see her in the lab, with the baby monitor wherever she goes… Very mom-like!" the agent continued.

"Booth!" Bones smacked him on the arm.

"See? The only thing that hasn't changed is that she still takes it on me!" the agent complained and couldn't help but smile at the reproachful look she was giving him.

"I have to take the monitor with me! Otherwise how would I know Andy's fine when I'm working? Besides, I'm not the one who runs straight to him when I arrive to the Jeffersonian!" the scientist replied.

"That's because you have him all the time! I only get to see him for a little while!"

"I'm his mother! I have to have him with me!"

"And didn't you tell me I should do the 'baby daddy' part?" the agent said, hands on his hips, face to face with his partner. She was going to reply when she turned a little and saw the other three adults' faces. Max, Amy and Russ had been watching them with a mix of curiosity and concern, not really knowing if this was turning into a heated and serious discussion.

"What?" Temperance asked looking briefly at Booth, who had the same clueless expression.

"Nothing, honey…" Max answered, "we were just… wondering…" The man didn't complete the sentence and instead turned to Parker, Emma and Hailey. "Okay, guys, what do you want to do first? We've gotten comets to fly, a Frisbee and our full set for baseball…"

"Baseball!" Parker shouted, but Emma asked for Frisbee and Hailey for comets.

"I guess we'll have to leave this to the luck…" Max said reaching for a coin in his pocket.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

"There you go, Andy", Brennan said taking a little spoonful of baby food and offering it to her son. He obediently opened his little mouth and took the food, tasting it eagerly. "One more…" the anthropologist continued as she offered a new bit.

"Who would've said…" Max broke the tender mother-son dialogue. He was watching his daughter intently; unable to believe this was the same woman he had met a year and a half before.

"What?" Brennan asked a little surprised of the way her dad was looking at her.

"After all we went through, and especially after all that has happened these past months we would end up here, spending a family Sunday. I feel I don't deserve this…"

"What are you talking about, dad? Of course, you deserve this…"

"A killer? A bank robber deserves a peaceful weekend with his two children? Such a guy deserves to see his kids with a family of their own, in love and with good mates to share their lives with?"

"Oh… Booth and I are not dating, dad…"Temperance argued though she felt a slight blush on her cheeks.

Max took a long minute to examine his daughter. She had lowered her eyes to fix them on the baby who was playing happily with his purple plush elephant. Her face seemed sadder than a minute before and to the expert eyes of a father that spoke volumes. "I know, sweetheart… Just give him some time…" Temperance looked at her father and smiled. "Your mother would be proud of you…"

Hearing the mention of her mother's memory the scientist smiled. "Do you think so?"

Max reached for his daughter's hand. "Of course. I'm very proud of you…" She smiled again and then she and her father turned to look at the rest of the family: by the joy on Russ, Amy and Emma's expression, they had just beaten Booth, Parker and Hailey in the baseball game they were engaged in.

"Not fair!" Booth complained shaking hands with Russ on their way back to the table.

"No cheating! You should have known that sometimes the best mates you can get are women! You in fact have one!" Russ retorted. He and Amy got on the bench tiredly. Parker, Emma and Hailey had seen the adults leave and reassumed their games.

"Of course I know that sometimes the best partner is a woman!" the agent said taking a seat by his partner. His arm went to circle her shoulders almost unconsciously pulling her a closer to him. "My partner here is the best proof that's right!"

"If they are good in solving crimes, they are good in baseball!" Russ said opening a can of soda.

"Did they beat you in baseball?" Brennan asked her partner, their faces only a few inches away.

"Yeah…" the agent replied, "only 6 to 5 though…"

"Ouch, that hurts!" Bones teased him.

"Wait till I have my new game partner here, right Andy?" he said reaching to tickle the baby's belly. "No one will beat us again! It'll be the Jeffersonian-FBI team against the Brennan's!"

"Hey, Tempe should be part of us then!" Russ argued.

"No way! She's my partner and I'm not sharing!" Booth replied tightening his hold on Brennan's shoulders a little more.

Max, Amy and Temperance laughed at the little argument. Yet, what had caught Max's attention was not what side his daughter would take in baseball, but the answer to this dilemma he was already observing in the scene in front of him: Booth's arm was circling Temperance's shoulders pulling her closer to him while his hand distractedly drew light paths over her upper arm, caressing it softly. It wasn't but a light touch but what was surprising the man was how comfortable his daughter seemed to be with it. Her bright smile spoke for her heart: at that moment, she had everything she could ask for, her family back with her, his father and brother out of legal trouble, she had a gorgeous baby of her own and a man who had devoted his life to her even if he hasn't confessed it out loud. He hadn't been wrong when he had asked Booth to take care of her. It didn't matter if they insisted there were just partners, they had a lifetime ahead.

"I'm so glad we've had this time together", Max said reaching to take Tempe's hand and Russ' shoulder. "If only Christine was here, we would've had everything we could ask for…" Both siblings looked at each other and then at their father, whose eyes were bright with tears. Amy squeezed Russ' hand tight while Booth's arm remained over Temperance's shoulders reassuring her somehow she was not alone.

"She's here, Max", Booth intervened and all eyes were fixed on him. "She'll always be as long as you have her in your hearts and minds…"

Contrary to her costume to always fight her partner when he mentioned something about religion, Bones said nothing. Somehow Booth's words filled her heart with warmth and a pleasant feeling of not having lost her mother forever. She turned to see him and when their eyes met, she smiled and leaned to place her head on his shoulder.

"You're totally right, son…" Max said smiling though his eyes were still bright with tears.

Russ cleared his throat and that caught everyone's attention. "I have something to do that I know would've made mom very happy…" he announced and moved to reach his jacket producing a little box out of one pocket. "As dad said, we have a good life ahead and I so want to do things right… I promised a good friend I would keep my nose and my heart clean…" he said and looked at Booth, who smiled lightly, "and I'm planning to keep my promise…"

Russ hadn't ever been more nervous than in that moment when he knelt in front of Amy and opened the little box he had in his hand to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. "Amy, would you agree to become my wife?"

The woman hardly suppressed a cry while Max, Booth and Tempe had wide smiles on their faces. "Y-yes…" a crying Amy said, tears welling up in her eyes, "oh, God, Russ, I'm so happy!"

Russ reached to put the ring in her finger before she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly.

"Congratulations, buddy!" Booth reached to offer his hand to Russ once Amy released him. "You're right, you're making things right…"

"Thanks…" Russ said.

"I'm so glad for you both!" Tempe said hugging her brother. "Really…" she then moved to hug her soon-to-be sister in law.

"Temperance?" Amy asked when she released the scientist. "Would you agree to be my maid of honor?"

Temperance was certainly surprised though very flattered. "Yes, I'd be honored!" she hugged the blond woman again.

"Well…" Russ interrupted. "Booth… I also wanted to ask you to be my best man…"

The agent was truly surprised: not everyday a man you arrested asked you to be with him in the most important day of his life. "Wow! Sure!" he said patting his shoulder brotherly. "Just don't ask me to tongue kiss the maid of honor…" he murmured almost unconsciously, and didn't count on his partner hearing it.

"What?"

"Nothing! It was a joke Hodgings made when he asked me to be his best man…" he hoped that was enough explanation for his ever curious partner and she certainly was ready to keep on her interrogatory hadn't a terrified cry called all the adults attention.

"Parker!" Booth yelled at recognizing his son's voice and ran to the boy, Russ at his heals.

"Daddy!" the blond boy was crying and threw his arms around his father's neck desperately.

"What happened, Parker? Come on, buddy, it's ok…" he tried to reassure his boy while his always attentive eyes surveyed the horizon. Emma and Hailey were in Russ' arms, crying as hard as Parker.

"It's a skull…" Parker finally said, still sobbing, "… in the trees". He pointed at a group of trees where they had been playing.

Booth looked back at Max and Bones, who had stayed away with Andy in her arms. "Okay, buddy," he said fixing his eyes on the six-year-old, "I need you to be brave and take me there, ok?" The boy nodded silently and took his father's hand to lead him. Russ followed the agent, the girls now safe in their mother's arms. A few steps away of the trees where they had been playing, Parker stopped and pointed ahead. "There…" he said and Booth proceeded, Russ behind him.

"Holy crap!" Russ exclaimed and covered his mouth and nose in complete disgust at the sight before him: some remains, covered in mud, tree leaves and dried grass, ants, worms and flies all around.

Booth said nothing but he knew their Sunday had just turned from peaceful into perturbing. He was worried about Parker, Emma and Hailey, but now he had to worry too about what they had found: even to an eye that was not as expert as Bones', the size left no room for doubts: those were the remains of a little child. "You better call your sister…" Booth instructed Russ, his heart heavy with sorrow. He opened his cell phone to call the FBI and ask for backup. "So much for a family Sunday…" the agent said as his partner came to where he was and walked straight to the remains. "Now you'll get to see your sister in action…"

Brennan shot him an exasperated look and then focused on her work ahead. "It's another baby…" she said. "For what I see a boy… not even a year old".

"You can say that from the bones?" Russ asked a little surprised.

"She's amazing…" Booth intervened proudly.

Temperance blushed a little at the comment though her eyes remained focused on the remains. "He was suffocated to death too, his nose is broken… There are no evident injuries and the tissues show no indication of bleeding. He was dead when he was brought here…" She looked up to meet her partner's eyes. "Do you think they are related?" she asked referring to the remains of the other baby they had identified a few days ago.

"If they are", he replied with evident worry in his voice, "I don't like what we're facing here…"

"What?" Russ asked lost in the partners' conversation.

"A serial killer…" Booth explained, "…and one whose victims are little babies…"


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, everyone!!

Happy New Year to all!! May all of you have a great year, and over all, may all of us have a year full of Booth/Bones shipper moments!!!! LOL!

Thanks a lot for the reviews, I hope you like this new chapter! I have the complete story planned and some more chapters already written, so I can promise you drama and surprises coming here! Hope you like it!

Gaby

**Chapter 3**

"Ok… We have two names", Booth announced climbing up the stairs to the platform where Brennan, Zach, Angela, Cam and Hodgins were already working. "Robert Alexander Thomas, or Adam Gregory Smith". He showed the pictures of the two babies attached to the Missing Person file. "Adam disappeared two months ago and Robert one month ago…"

"Adam was nine months old…" Brennan read from the file, "and Robert was seven months… Who can be doing this?" She looked up at her partner and saw such a deep understanding in his brown eyes that she knew he was thinking the same.

"Whoever the bastard is we're going to find him, Bones…"

"Ok, I'm ready…" Angela announced and showed them the drawing she had worked on. "I'm not certain though…"

"Oh…" Brennan exclaimed as soon as she saw the picture.

"What?" Booth asked, a little oblivious as always.

"I-I can't tell for sure either…" she explained totally surprised and showed the drawing and the pictures to Booth. "They share too many facial indicators and because of their age, they were still too undeveloped…"

"I don't get it… Why are they so similar? Do you mean they were brothers or so?" the agent ventured. He liked this less and less with the minute.

"We can't say for sure if we don't have DNA samples from both babies… Maybe they are half brothers, but that's totally an assumption. I can't know until we have more evidence…" Temperance said.

"We can start with the parents… At least we would know who we have here… Who?" Booth asked placing the pictures in front of his partner so she could choose.

"This is pure guessing…" she complained. "This", she picked up Robert's file.

"Ok… Let's call Mr. and Mrs. Thomas…" Booth said leaving the platform.

***

"So, Mrs. Thomas, tell me… What do you do for a living?" the FBI agent started to question the woman as they all met in Brennan's office where the scientist would take blood and DNA samples to compare them with the remains.

"I'm a wild life veterinarian. I work at the DC zoo… I'm an assistant at the birds' area…" she explained as Temperance tied a rubber band around her arm and cleaned her veins with some alcohol.

"And your husband?"

"I… hum… There's not a Mr. Thomas…" she confessed a little shyly, her eyes fixed on the red liquid filling the test tubes. "I'm a single mother…"

"Must've been hard with your job and a little baby…" he stated carefully observing the woman's reaction.

"James left me when he knew I was pregnant… He wanted me to abort but I refused. I've always wanted to have a baby and I told him so. I had a stable job, I'm not a teenager, I could take care of a baby by myself so I told him I was going to keep the baby no matter what. He told me I had to choose between him and my baby, and of course I chose my son…" the woman explained.

Temperance took the needle off her arm, placed a piece of cotton over it and made her bend it. She observed her: blonde, thin, in her thirties, she looked like a nice person and it was obvious she loved her kid. "Why did you baby's father want you to abort? Did he give you an explanation?"

"James has epilepsy… He was terrified his children would inherit it too…"

"Epilepsy is not always a genetic disease…" Temperance said. "Only a few types can be…"

"See? In this case, he was right… Robbie has it…" Danielle Thomas replied, her eyes bright with tears.

"Who took care of your son, Mrs. Thomas? When you were at work, I mean…" Booth continued.

"My mother… She's so happy to have a grandson that she loves to spend all day with him. The day he disappeared she had taken him to the zoo…" The voice of the woman cracked and she no longer could hold the tears.

Temperance felt so sorry for the woman that she reached to place a hand on her arm. Danielle Thomas couldn't stand it anymore and reached to hug the scientist, trying to get some reassurance. Brennan was surprised at first, but somehow she could understand how desperate the woman should be so she let her cry over her shoulder. She looked up to see her partner and his sweet sight told her she was doing the right thing.

***

"Here you go…" Brennan said some time later handling Danielle a steaming mug of coffee. They were still in Bones' office waiting for the results of the blood test.

"Thank you", Danielle said. "I'm sorry for this… It's only that these days have been such a nightmare…" She couldn't continue as her eyes filled with tears again.

"There's no need to apologize, really…" Brennan offered.

"Do you… have children, Dr. Brennan?" Danielle asked.

Bones nodded. "One… A little boy, eight months old…" she took a photo frame from her desk and showed it to her. It was a picture Angela had taken of Booth carrying Andy. She was by their side and they looked like a real family.

"Then you should know how it is…" the other woman continued. "You love them the minute you know you're pregnant, and even before, when it's nothing but a feeling. You love them even if you can't see them, even if you don't feel them! And then as they start to grow inside you, and when they start to move inside you… it's such a feeling of unconditional love… You know you'd give up your own life for them…"

"I-I…" Temperance stuttered nervously. "I don't know really…" Danielle looked at her uncertainly, as if not believing what the mother of such a cute baby was saying. Bones noticed it. "Andy is not… my own", she explained, "I adopted him".

"Oh…"

"Yet, I understand what you say", she continued. "He's my number one priority now… It used to be my job, but now… it's Andy…" Brennan said with a tender smile in her face. She took back the picture and examined it a little.

"Your husband seems to love him as much as you do… I can tell Andy is a very lucky boy", Danielle said in what it seemed for her the natural conclusion. "How long have you two being together?"

"Three years, but… Booth is not my husband…" Brennan replied blushing a little.

"Oh, ok, I understand", the woman said so cheerfully that it was obvious even to Bones that she still thought they were a couple. She was about to explain they were not when Cam got into her office.

"I have the test blood… The baby is B positive", she handled Bones a folder with the printed tests.

"B positive?" Danielle asked. "But I'm A positive?"

"What about James?" Bones asked.

"He was O negative".

"Are you sure?" Cam asked.

"Yes! One of my best friends is O negative and she once needed a transfusion. James was going to be a donor, but he couldn't in the end".

"Then, there's no doubt…" Bones told her boss.

"What?" Danielle asked, half relieved and half scared.

"We don't have Robbie… The remains we found are those of Adam Gregory Smith".

"Oh no!" Danielle exclaimed.

"Somehow these are good news for you, Mrs. Thomas", Bones tried to reassure her. "It means Robbie can still be alive…"

Through her tears, Danielle looked up at Bones and nodded. "I'm sorry… I just really want all this to be over… I want my kid back! He's sick, he needs his medicine!"

"If he's still alive, I promise you the FBI will do everything to find your baby", Brennan said firmly.

"You are not the FBI…" Danielle tried to argue.

"I know", Brennan cut her off, "but I know Booth and I know he's going to do everything to find your son…" the scientist said patting her hand and sharing a meaningful look with Cam.

***

"Ready to go?" Booth asked Bones as he walked into her office. It was late in the afternoon and their peaceful Sunday had been everything but peaceful.

"Yes!" she exclaimed shutting her computer off and reaching for her bag and jacket. She couldn't wait to go pick Andy up at Russ' place and then go straight home.

"Let's go get our big boy…" Booth murmured leading her out of the office. His hand found its usual place in the small of her back as they crossed the almost desert corridors.

"Are you leaving already?" Cam asked as they met by the platform.

"Ah… Yes… It's getting late and I need to pick Andy up…" Brennan explained. "Besides I cannot do more until we have the DNA tests and Zach gets the bones clean".

"I'll see you tomorrow then…" Cam smiled at the couple. "Please, Dr. Brennan, take care of Andy…"

As much as the dark skinned woman said she didn't want kids, Brennan and Booth had caught her often smiling and playing with Andy since he had first arrived to the lab. The scientist was grateful at the help she had given her to find a pediatrician who knew how to treat Andy's condition and, truth to be told, the drugs were doing wonders with the baby. After their rather unfriendly beginning almost two years ago, the two women had come to respect each other and it looked like the baby was the missing piece to make them close friends. "I will, Cam, thanks", Bones said. "See you tomorrow morning…"

They were just reaching the SUV when Booth's cell phone rang. "Booth", he replied and listened carefully to what he was being told. "Ok, thank you, Charlie. Please call me if you have more news". He hung up and looked at his partner. "A security guard reported seeing a man with a baby in a Walmart in Maryland. The man fills James Stuart's description".

"The baby could be Robbie Thomas!" she exclaimed quite frantically. "He must be alive then!"

"Yes", the agent said trying to calm his anxious partner. "The police has been informed and they are looking for the man. If they find him, they have orders to protect the baby's life by all means…"

Bones leaned heavily against the seat. "How can someone do this, Booth? They are little babies, they can't hurt anyone!"

Booth's heart sank when he saw her blue eyes full of tears. He had always known that the cold and strong Dr. Temperance Brennan was nothing but a façade of the kind and selfish-less woman that was sitting by his side. "Whoever is doing this, Bones, we're going to find him. I promise", he said reaching for her hand and squeezing it tightly. She couldn't say a word and just nodded. "Let's go. It's been a long day…" the agent said turning the engine on.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, everyone!

Thanks a lot for the reviews and here comes a new chapter!! I hope you enjoy it!! I think you all will… except for the ending.

But I'll say no more, please read and enjoy.

Love

Gaby

**Chapter 4**

Forty minutes later, they were finally reaching Bones' apartment. Andy was sound asleep at that moment, but Temperance knew she still had a long night ahead.

"Here we go…" Booth said placing Andy's chair over the coffee table. "Our little guy is off like a light…"

"Yeah… He looks so peaceful when he's asleep…" she said looking at the baby. There was a sad note in her voice that didn't go unnoticed by someone who knew her so well.

"Are you gonna be fine, Bones?" Booth asked seriously, his eyes fixed on his partner.

"I'll be fine, Booth… I'm tired, that's all… It's been a long day and I still have to prepare my class for tomorrow…"

"What time is your class?"

"8.30…"

"Tell you what… I'll pick you up tomorrow at 8.00 and drive you to the university. I'll look after Andy while you teach your class…" the agent said trying his best to ease his partner's aching heart.

"No, no, it's not necessary, Booth!" she immediately argued. "I'll take him with me…"

"To a Crime Scene Investigation graduate course?" he protested. "Come on! I know you want him to be intelligent, but don't you think it's too much?"

"What? No! I'm not…" When she realized he was smiling, she knew it was a joke.

"Bones, I'll be happy to take care of him, ok? Let me help you. I'm here to help you…" he offered now very seriously.

There was so much comfort in those brown eyes that she finally gave up. "Ok… Thank you, Booth…"

Sensing her mood, how she felt vulnerable about the whole situation, the agent opened his arms. "Come here…" he said in a low voice, pulling his partner into a hug. Their "guy hugs" had become a lot more frequent over the last year, but neither seemed to care. Although she always said she didn't need protection, she sometimes needed the sense of security his partner's arms gave her, and Booth cherished those moments too, those rare occasions when he felt he could protect her the way he always wanted to.

"Sometimes I wonder if I did the right choice, you know?" Bones murmured still from her place in her partner's arms. "Maybe I won't be a good mother…"

"What?" Booth asked pulling away abruptly. "You're kidding me, right?" He was truly surprised at her words knowing as he knew she rarely had second thoughts on a decision she had made. Yet, the fear in those blue eyes made his own heart ache and told him she was not joking. "Nobody would do for a sick little baby what you are doing for Andy, Bones…" he murmured seriously. She lowered her face somehow embarrassed for having voiced her fears. A gentle finger lifted her chin and her eyes met Booth's. "You're the best thing that could have happened to Andy…" he said, his eyes so serious and so fixed in hers that her stomach turned into a tight knot.

"How can you know?" she whispered, eyes never leaving his.

This was one of those moments when Seeley Booth lost all contact with his surroundings and all his senses were fixed on the beautiful woman standing in front of him. In moments like this, he felt himself driven b some unknown force that attracted him to her like a magnet and he had to fight back some words that reached his mind at the sight of his partner's vulnerable state. "Because you've been the best thing that has happened to me, Temperance…" he heard himself saying. It surprised him that he didn't falter at the realization of what he had just said and that she wasn't pulling away either. For the first time in minutes, his eyes moved from her eyes to set over her red lips that opened up slightly. He leaned over her slowly, almost imperceptibly…

A whimper and the beginning of a cry made them snap back at reality. "Looks like he's waking up…" the agent said checking on the baby.

"He must be hungry…" Temperance said checking on her clock. "I still need to give him a bath too…"

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I can handle it…" she said smiling. "Thank you again, for everything…"

"There's nothing to thank for…" he said getting lost in her eyes for a second again. "I… Hum… I shall get going… I want to pass by and check on Parker… He was pretty scared too…"

"Yeah… Please tell him I said good bye, ok?"

"I will…" he said walking to the door. "Lock the door, Bones, ok? And if you need anything, no matter what time, call me, ok?" he said so seriously that she didn't think about arguing.

"Ok… Thank you…"

"I'll be here at 8…" he said closing the door behind him. He stayed a moment until he heard Bones locking the door and only then did he call the elevator.

***

The following morning the elevator at the FBI stopped with a "ding" and the doors opened to allow an agent and the baby he was carrying to walk along the hallway up to his office at the rear end. Many curious eyes looked up from papers and computer screens to examine the tough special agent carrying a baby seat in one hand and a diaper bag in the other. Seeley Booth was perfectly aware of the fuel he was giving to the rumors in the FBI by showing up in there carrying the baby. If people there had by now gotten used to see him and Brennan together (although now and then someone still would suggest them being a couple), this was a whole new situation. And still he couldn't care less.

"Okay, buddy, here we are…" he told Andy placing the chair on his desk. "We better hurry with the paperwork of the case or when your mamma comes back, she's gonna give us a lecture…" he said taking off the baby's cover so he was more comfortable. "Are we all set?" he asked facing the boy who fixed his big blue eyes on him. As Booth nodded, Andy nodded too. "Yeah, that's my boy!" he said excited at the baby's "response". "Let's get to work…"

"Agent Booth?" Charlie's voice interrupted him a second later.

"Yeah, Charlie?" he answered with a monotonous tone, his eyes never leaving the paper in his hands.

"Are you in charge of Dr. Brennan's son today?" the assistant said, "'cause it could be a problem if you need to go out…"

"Uh huh…"

"So… some people here would be happy to look after him if you need…"

"Uh huh…"

"Like Sophie or Marianne… or Eve from the 7th floor…"

"Uh huh…"

"They all say they could take turns and help you and Dr. Brennan…"

"Yeah. Tell them I'll let them know…" Booth replied as he walked to the door to push his annoying assistant away before closing his door.

"Also Marie, director Cullen's secretary…" Charlie continued reopening the door.

"Bye, bye, Charlie!" Booth said angrily. Only then did the man left. "Women…" he murmured.

By midday the elevator doors opened again to let in a forensic anthropologist that was coming back from Washington University. Two women she had seen a couple of times at the Edgar Hoover building passed by her, but Brennan didn't notice the mischievous glance they shared. She left the elevator and headed to the ladies room before going to her partner's office.

The two women took the elevator down. It stopped one floor later to let another passenger in. "Did you see Agent Booth carrying her baby today in the morning?" one of the women asked the other. It would've been a conversation the other passenger wouldn't care about hadn't it been for the words "Booth" and "baby" on it.

"Yeah, he looked so cute with the baby… If it wasn't for Charlie I'd bet Agent Booth is Dr. Brennan's baby dad", the other woman replied to the growing interest of the third passenger.

"You know? I don't believe their story… A case? Come on! You don't keep all the babies you come across in a case! Who takes care of a baby of a total stranger and doesn't care to arrive to the FBI with a diaper bag on his shoulder?" the one who had spoken first continued.

"But Charlie says the baby is not hers, nor Agent Booth's… Besides, I never saw her pregnant!"

"Well… If you remember, she stopped coming for some good months about last summer. And he never got another partner… Maybe she didn't come so nobody would notice… And just look at the baby's eyes: they are as blue as hers!"

"That's right… So, do you think it's not true they are just partners?"

"After three years? Yeah, and my grandma is the Queen of England…"

The women exited the elevator leaving the other passenger behind. He didn't think it twice and pushed the bottom directly to the floor of Booth's office.

***

As much as he looked like a little angel, a long day in the office was just too much for little Andy. He had been fed, patted and changed, but at the moment he had decided to start "acting like a real baby", just as the FBI agent had once said. The baby had started to fuss and then he burst into crying out loud, as if trying to show the whole FBI building how good his lungs were. "Hey, little man, what's up with you?" Booth said throwing away the papers, his full attention now on the baby. "Come on… We've had lunch and you're dry…" he picked up the baby and started to walk him along his office. "Are we bored now?" The baby seemed to relax little by little as his crying subsided.

"Hey…" Brennan greeted them appearing by the door. At the sight of his mother the baby stopped crying.

"Hey! Hey Andy, looks who's here!" Booth turned to face his partner so the baby could see her too. "Mommy's here!"

"Did he behave?" Brennan asked offering her arms to the baby, who immediately leaned towards her. "Didn't he bother you?"

"Not at all! We had a good time, right Andy?" the agent said passing the baby to her. "But we missed mommy a lot!"

"Mommy?" the voice of a stranger said from the door and both Brennan and Booth turned to face him, their faces showing such a surprise that they seemed to have seen a ghost.

Bones was the first to react. "Sully!"

Booth spoke only a second later. "What are you doing here?"


	6. Chapter 6

Yeah, I know: it's a miracle! But yes, miracles do exist and I'm posting a new chapter after so long… I hope I've found the inspiration to finish this and to start with new stories.

Love to all

Gabby

**Chapter 5**

"I'm back to DC. I came to…" the former FBI agent said and looked to Temperance. The image of the woman he loved with a baby in her arms was something his mind wasn't willing to accept. "I came back to see Temperance… but I think right now I don't know why I came back…"

"To see me?" Temperance asked quite shocked.

"I promised I would come back!" Sully tried to argue.

"After one year!" Bones yelled.

"It should have been what? Ten months ago?" Booth intervened. Yes, Sully was his friend but after leaving Bones the way he had done, he wasn't feeling very friendly.

"Nineteen months, Booth! I was away nineteen months!" Sully replied with obvious anger in his eyes. "Nineteen months that obviously didn't pass in vain…" he said gazing at Andy.

"And did you think you could come back as if nothing had happened?" Booth continued.

"I knew many things would have happened, but this… honestly…" he shook his head. He looked at Temperance again and left the office.

Booth saw him leaving and then turned to his partner. This was one of those rare moments when he just didn't know what to do. The time Sully had been around had driven him crazy, he had had to "share" his Bones, something he had considered impossible to do. Hadn't the incident with Cam and Epps been so close in time, he would've admitted to his shrink that he was jealous, and that he indeed wanted to believe he was the reason why Bones hadn't sailed away with Sully. What was she feeling? He wondered if she was sad or mad, or perhaps having second thoughts on Andy. Reading people was how he earned his life, but still after three years, sometimes he had problems in reading his partner. "Bones?" he asked tentatively.

She looked up to see him, her blue eyes bright with tears, her previous smile gone. It was a full blow to his stomach, and yet he managed to ask, "Are you ok?" He placed a hand on her shoulder.

He heard her take a deep breath, her eyes closed, and when she opened them again, her cold mask was in full display. "Yes, I'm fine", she said and moved away from him. "I have to go back to the lab and check on what's new on the case. I'll call you later".

"Okay…"

"Thanks again for watching over Andy…" she grabbed the diaper bag in a hurry and left.

"Anytime…" he murmured. Although he wanted to make her stay, open up to him and talk, he knew better than pushing her. He restrained himself from the imperious need of pulling her into a hug and just let her go.

"Dr. Brennan!" Zach called his boss' attention as he saw her coming into the lab. "I've determined the cause of death… It's the same than in the other remains, suffocation…"

"No blows, no skull fractures?" she asked climbing up the platform, Andy still in her arms.

"C2 fracture again… No internal bleeding…" Zach said showing her the mentioned bone.

"Any luck with particles? Something that may tell us where they were killed?"

"I've found traces of industrial soap and disinfectant…" Hodgins intervened, "they definitely were not killed where they were found…"

"Ok… Zach, ask Cam to run a full tox test… Maybe we can find something we can't see…" Brennan said and hurried to leave the platform, passing by Angela who noticed the distress in her expression.

The artist, being possibly the second person that knew her best after her partner, followed Brennan to her office. She found her sitting in her couch, playing with Andy. "Hey…"

"Hi, Angela…" Bones replied unenthusiastically.

"Everything's alright?"

"Yeah…" she said not looking at her friend.

Angela took a seat at the opposite side of the couch and began calling Andy's attention too. "You don't seem alright, Brennan…"

The anthropologist sighed in defeat before looking at her friend. "Sully's back…"

"What?"

"I saw him at Booth's office… He arrived there just when I was picking up Andy…"

"Did you talk? Did you tell him about him?" she said pointing at the baby with her head.

Bones shook her head. "He didn't let me talk, he saw us, Booth, Andy and me, and he just left…"

"He thinks Andy's Booth's…" Angela concluded.

"What? No!" Brennan said defensively, though she immediately recognized her friend was right. "I think he does…"

"And you don't want him to…" Angela prodded.

"I don't care what he thinks, Angela!" Brennan argued. "He left, he has no right to ask for explanations!"

"What if he wants to come back to you, sweetie?"

"Doesn't it matter what I want too?" Bones said defensively. "I didn't go with him because I didn't want to, but I adopted Andy because I wanted and because I wanted to be sure he was properly taken care. I also have a word to say in this, Ange…"

"I know, Bren, I know!" the artist said. "I'm with you on this! I care about you, and I care about him too", she reached for the baby's little hand, "but you deserve to be happy, and you were happy when Sully was around…"

Brennan took a moment to reply. She just watched the baby trying to get a plush puppy from her friend. "I think I'm happy now, Angela. I have Andy… I would never give up on him for some romantic relationship that wouldn't last for more than the time it takes Sully to decide where he'll be sailing this time…"

"You are right in one thing but wrong in the other…" Angela said and waited for her friend to look at her in the eyes. "You are right about Andy being over everything else, but you're wrong giving up your romantic life for him. He's your son, not your husband".

"I know!"

"And he also will need a father figure, have you considered that?"

Bones said nothing for a minute, and then replied to her friend. "Sully wouldn't understand, Angela… I know he wouldn't… On the other hand, Andy has Booth, he loves him very much…"

"I wasn't thinking only on Sully, sweetie…" Angela said smiling to her friend. "Actually he was the last one in my mind… and Booth was the first one".

"Agent Booth?" a voice made the FBI agent look up from the file he had been reading for the last 40 minutes.

"What's up, Sweets?"

"I was reading the file you sent about Robbie Thomas and I thought you'd find interesting some things I have found…" the psychologist said as he came closer to the desk and took a seat without being invited. Contrary to what always happened, Booth didn't seem to care.

"What?"

"Robbie has epilepsy, as does the father…"

"So?" Booth was getting exasperated. He had many more things to think about than something he already knew.

"The father, James Stuart, was also treated with OCD. His main phobia was not germs, as it normally is, but evil… Is there something wrong, agent Booth?" Lance asked as he realized the other man was no longer paying attention to him.

"Why did he have to come back?"

"Beg your pardon?"

Booth looked at his therapist for a moment and thought of not saying more, but he needed to get it out of his system. "Bones' ex boyfriend…" he murmured with obvious disgust. "He left about a year and a half ago and now he's back, all of a sudden…"

"And that bothers you…"

"Of course it does, Sweets!" Booth snapped. "He left her! He put her aside to go play the sailor on a boat around the Caribbean! He used to say he cared for her; that is not care about someone, is it?"

"You had never mentioned him in therapy…" Sweets pointed. "It might explain some of the tension between you and Dr. Brennan…"

"No, Sweets! We went over this with Dr. Wyatt! We're clear: Bones didn't stay and left her boyfriend sail alone because of me, she stayed because she couldn't live a life without a purpose!" Booth argued.

"Really? I beg to differ…" the psychologist said. "Real love makes us do a lot of purposeless things…"

"Real love, you've said it yourself! Bones wasn't in love with Sully…"

"Obviously not… Much to your own relief…" Lance pointed again.

"What are you thinking, Sweets? I thought we were clear on this one: Bones and I are partners, just partners…" the agent leaned towards the younger man, obviously trying to intimidate him, though he by now knew that reaction all too well.

"See, agent Booth? The more you try to convince yourself about it, the less you make it believable… The signals are so clear, so bright that they seem to have made you both blind…" Sweets stood up and left the file over the desk. "Just be careful not to realize too late… You must try to get James Stuart and compare his DNA with Adam Smith… in case he also had epilepsy…"


End file.
